


The morning after

by Ruby_Lucas



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Real Person Fiction
Genre: F/M, Not my character (Ruby), Original Story - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 10:34:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6562888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruby_Lucas/pseuds/Ruby_Lucas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a brand new freshman with no older siblings who went to college, Ruby did the "Don'ts" and didnt do the "do's" of college life. Ruby was still in her rebelious phase and saw college as an opportunity to have the best times of her life. Sadly, and very expectingly, this isn't how it worked for her. From using 50 saved coupons to buy a months worth of junk food, to waking up in someone elses bed, will Ruby ever learn to face her responsibillities that linger in both social life and school work?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This has been taken from my account on Wattpad (Katysicecream) and the only character that isn't mine I believe will be Ruby, I'm not sure if anyone else will pop in from OUAT. This is just Ruby in college ;)

When Ruby opened her eyes that morning, she didn't realise where she was. Not even a headache was knawing at the back of her head. She propped herself up on her elbow and stared at the floor beneath her, then looking to her left. Ruby did this all very slowly and in her own time - any quick movements would send her head into a rampage. Her eyes widened; her jaw dropped. Laying next to her, was the guitarist from some new band her friend had told her about. His arm was resting over his eyes, and the other drooping over the side of the bed. He was shirtless, much to Ruby's delight, and his perfectly toned belly was rising slowly up and down; however, she was still confused as to what had happened that previous night. The obvious answer was that she got laid, but previously she's woken up with people sharing the bed with her and nothing had gone on the night before. Ruby slowly, very slowly, pulled the covers up for a quick peek, raising her eyebrows at the sight she had revealed. She placed the covers back down and settled again. Then she had a brilliant idea. Considering he was pretty hot, she decided to give him a chance. Ruby shifted over closer to him and moved his arm around her shoulder, closing her eyes; waiting patiently for him to awake. If he would just sneak out thinking he got away clean, Ruby would give him a run for his money. But if he stayed until she awoke and conversed, she could see it going somewhere.

It was quite a while before Ruby heard his sigh and felt a slight twitch; his gaze fall upon her. Obviously, Ruby had shifted herself in a position where she didn't have some ugly sleeping face that might put him off. She heard him whisper to himself, questioning the situation, then move a tiny bit of hair out of her face. After that he mirrored Ruby's actions and lifted the covers to check exactly what happened; upon realising that they "did the do", he settled back down and cautiously turned on his side to face her. Now this was the point when Ruby was bartering when to wake up, and how. Should she do it slowly, like a disney princess, or wake up with a confused face, sitting up to figure out her surroundings. After pondering for about 10 minutes, she opened her eyes and sighed, looking to her left like she had no idea he was there. He grinned at her, and raised his eyebrows.

"Good morning sweetheart" He said, eyes locked with hers. Ruby grinned back and sat up carefully, holding the covers to her chest.

"Mind if I cut the small talk and just ask who you are?" She giggled, clicking her fingers in front of his wandering eyes.

"Finn, and by the looks of you I think you're a Gabby, or a Stella" He replied, that cheeky grin returning when his eyes wandered back down Ruby's partially covered body.

"I'm Ruby...what made you think I was a Gabby or a Stella?"

"Ah, Ruby. Yeah that suits you. It's just because you haven't straight up refused to talk to me, or thrown dirty looks my way whilst you struggle to get your bra on - which is hanging from the celing fan by the way" Ruby looked up and saw her bra dangling down, making her burst out in laughter.

"Well looks like you're just going to have to get out from under those covers and get it for me, Finn, because I can't reach" She whispered with a shine in her eye.

"You haven't even tried, Gem, so how do you know if you can't reach? Maybe you should just get on your knees and stretch your arms up high to get it - and if that doesn't work, I could give you a boost" Finn commented, his bold smile returning.

"I can't, I might drop the sheets that's covering me, and surely you don't want to see me naked, right Finn?" She joked, winking at him and laying back down on her side. After a short staring competition, Finn sighs and smirks, with an obvious idea in his mind. He rises up to his knees and gathers as much covers as he could, leaving very little for Ruby. She squealed and tried to cover herself as much as she could, even using pillows. He laughed and recovered her bra from the fan, throwing it at her face.

"Don't mean to throw you out, Gem, but my roommate is coming back from his parents' place soon and he's not happy when I have visitors - especially female ones"

"What? Why?" Ruby questioned, her face dropping slightly as she was enjoying her time here.

"Well for a start he's jealous that I can get girls and he can't. He's also a suck up, a dorm monitor, you know how it is. So he'd be ready to report me one more time, because that's all it is going to take before I have to explain why I have so many visitors in my dorm." Finn sighed, falling back onto the bed and pulling Ruby with him. She sighed and shook her head.

"No, I'm not going. I'm staying here. Your roommate can go fuck himself, but if he starts threatening you with the old snitching game then I'll just have to play the 'bursting out of his bedroom and thanking you for letting me stay for the night when I had no where to go' card. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I slept in his bed with nothing on" Ruby winked, watching Finns lips stretch into a smile.


	2. Chapter Two

Ruby bit into her last slice of toast whilst watching all the students rush to their first class, their arms full of books and struggling to tie their bike up in time. That would be her - constantly late, never prepared. But it's not too bad, she tends to pass most of her classes...by the skin of her teeth. It doesn't bother her much because hey, at least she passed. Imagine what she could achieve if she actually tried? Well that's going to be left for your imagination because Ruby plans on taking it slow for now, until she's really ready to crack down on her work. She's not too sure about when that might be, but it will happen, soon. Maybe. Anyway, it would be her but it's not, she has no classes today at all, so she can spend as much time as she wants with her new friend. Usually they just have a talk the morning after then she slips out like it never happened, but today she decided to stay for breakfast. Finishing her toast, Ruby giggled at the vexed Finn who was trying to fix a light bulb above his oven.

"Finn are you trying to change the bulb?" She laughed, thinking of the cliche joke "how many idiots does it take to change a light bulb".

"Yeah, but it won't work! I don't know why. I think I need another bulb, or Ted in to fix the whole thing..."

"What happened? Did the bulb just go out?"

"No, I was making popcorn with my friends but I didn't even think about putting a lid over the pan, so the popcorn went flying, along with some kernals that never actually popped. One went zooming right into the light bulb and smashed it. I don't know what else it did inside to the wiring but I'm hoping it's not too bad..." Finn sighed and put the bulb down, looking defeated. Ruby grinned and got up from the stool, walking over to him and taking hold of his hand and guiding it to the bulb. She brought it up to the empty socket and twisted it to the right - instantly, the light flickered on.

"Righty tighty, lefty loosy" She laughed, walking back over to the table and placing her empty plate in the sink that was already over piled with dirty dishes. "Doesn't your roommate hate this kind of stuff? I know I do!"

"Yeah he does, and keeps nagging at me to do it, but I never do. Then he eventually gives up and does it himself" Ruby rolled her eyes and searched the drawers and cupboards for washing-up gloves. She found a new pair of yellow rubber gloves and started moving the plates aside. Finn grinned and grabbed a dry towel, whipping her with it playfully.

"Hey! Do you want me to help you with this or not?" She yelled with a huge smile growing on her face. Finn shrugged and watched has she scrubbed the mould from a dish that's never been washed before. After she'd finished, he took the plate from her hands and started to dry it carefully. As time went on, he slowly lost his touch with drying the plates and bowls as cutlery, so he just ended up slinging them in the cupboard and drawers without even letting the towel touch them. Ruby noticed he was doing it a long time ago, but she felt like the task was tedious too, and she was only doing it so his roommate wouldn't nip at Finns neck. Once they'd finished, she slapped the yellow gloves down on the side and punched his arm.

The door slammed and a slightly squeaky voice echoed through the apartment. Ruby looked at Finn and saw his eyes roll.

"Finn! This is the final straw! I have told you too many times that females AREN'T allowed in our dorm! Do you know what the punishment is?" Finns roommate yelled. He came storming in, and stopped dead in his tracks when he caught sight of Ruby lying on the sofa with her underwear on and one of Finn's old tops.

"Hey calm down, I know it's against the rules but I had no way of getting home last night - so Finn let me stay here for the night. If it weren't for him, anything could have happened." Ruby protested, sitting up slightly and scratching her head. He didn't answer back, just nodded slightly and walked over to the kitchen, preparing a drink. He had thick glasses that kept sliding down his nose, and very small teeth that only made an appearence when he smiled fully. The spots on his face seemed like they were just red lumps that covered his forehead and chin, and he had a thin moustache that was somewhat ginger, even though his hair was a dark brown. His hands were very bony and his fingers long and pale. His arms had no ounce of fat on him - when he lifted his full glass of milk to his face, the veins in his arm popped slightly.

"So...what's your name, m'lady?" He mumbled, Ruby cringed at his name for her. Unlike Finn, who had named her something cute like Gem (which essentially is exactly what her name meant), the lad decided to call her something from the mideval era.

"I'm Ruby" She replied, sitting up on her knees to face him, her hair falling past her shoulders. He smiled, showing his tiny teeth beneath the moustache that plagues his face.

"Nice to meet you, Ruby, I'm Felix."


	3. Chapter Three

After the last word was scratched onto the paper, Ruby dropped her pen onto the desk and sat back, rushing her hands through her thick brown locks. She let out a loud sigh and slammed her Psychology book shut, resting her head in her hands as she glared at the clock. 2AM on the dot - she had her Psych end of the unit test that was due in 6 hours. Ruby had just studied the whole course with a splitting headache and 2 tubs of coffee. She started to pack things into her bag, picking up her phone to see the amount of missed calls and text messages Finn had sent her throughout the day. Ruby had turned her phone off so she had no distractions because she really needed this course to be finished with a good grade. But she kept thinking that she was going to fail, that no matter how hard she truly tried or studied, she would fail. She knew that she should have attended all the classes, and done the homework when it was set, and actually pay attention when she was there. But she was never able to do it, resorting to one textbook and the internet to help her through all of the missed work a few hours before the final exam. She crept over to the window and looked over the campus, resting on the window sill, with her head on the glass. It was so quiet. Ruby was used to the constant noise of the traffic, the seagull nest on the roof, the drummer and guitarist who lived on the floor below. She was quite unlucky to have been given the top floor of the apartments, especially as she was a notorious party animal who refused to go home until she was unable to drink another drop of alcohol. The stairs were always a challenge for her - for anyone, drunk or not. The ceiling in the bathroom leaked on a very heavy rainstorm and the seagulls that have made the roof their home constantly cry out from the early hours of the morning. But not now. When Ruby opened the window and took a deep breath in, she expected the frequent noise of a car or a siren to echo through the air, the sound of people returning from a nightclub. Not this time. All she could hear was her own breathing and watched as her breath vaporised into mist.

The next thing Ruby heard was a faint noise of her alarm clock going off in her bedroom, interrupting her light sleep. She pulled her head up and groaned, struggling to pull herself up from the floor. The light was pouring into the room, and so was harsh wind. Ruby shut the window, somewhat glad to hear the noise of traffic and the voices of students rushing to the cafe that serves all students Bacon Sandwiches for free from 5AM to 7AM. The seagulls were yapping above her as she travelled slowly into her bedroom and turned off the alarm. As she turned around she caught sight of herself in the mirror; ragged hair and dark circles under her eyes. Thankfully she was without make-up yesterday as she had no plans to go out with friends, so that saved her some time when she cleaned herself up. Ruby clawed through her wardrobe and pulled out a large sweater; finding some leggings in the drawers beneath. After she had dressed and eaten some toast, she had an hour to get to her exam. Ruby decided it was probably best to get there early - finally feeling responsible for her education, like she was really trying.

Upon arriving at the room, her friend Florence bounced up to her. She started talking about how much she had revised - all the areas Ruby had completely forgotten about.

"I didn't even know we had to revise the structure of memory! I hope it's not a big part of the test..." Ruby muttered, staring at the ceiling.

"Ruby, you'll be fine. I don't think it is a big part of the test anyway, just the reliability of eyewitnesses testimonies in courtroom settings and the importance of childhood experiences...you did revise them, right?" Ruby nodded, thankfully. The conversation quickly changed to weekend plans shortly before they all flooded into the room and began their test.

Everyone was discussing answers when it was over, whilst Ruby was wiping the sweat off of her brow and feeling terrible. Her stomach was churning at the very thought of her results, even though everything she had studied was on the test, and only a few marks were centred around the structure of memory. This didn't stop Ruby from rushing to get home and throwing her bag across the room. She pulled her hair out of the bun it was in and brushed a few knots out. She doesn't usually have her hair in a bun, but considering she had the test today she knew she would be running her hands through her hair if it wasn't up. The rest of the day would go smoothly, only two more lectures that finish at 15:30. On her way back, Florence notified her of a party starting tonight at 7, which Ruby had to be sure not to miss. If she paced herself well, she could do homework for two hours, which would take her to 17:30, then use the rest of the time before 7pm to get ready. And then maybe come back at 10pm but that's highly unlikely.

After the homework was done and the party already started, Ruby pulled open her door in a hurry and grabbed her bag, smoothing down her hair before locking the door. She started to rush down the stairs with her high heels making a huge amount of noise before she stopped dead in her tracks. What if Finn was there? Does he think that they were serious? Does Ruby think that they're serious? It could be awkward, but probably not, maybe they'd just go home together again, or say hello then not talk for the rest of the party. Either way, Ruby was going to that party to have fun and not even a one night stand will stop her.

Only being two streets away from the party, Ruby hears someone breathing heavily behind her. Out of precaution, she brings her phone out of her bag and begins dialling Florence before a forceful and unfamiliar hand landed on her shoulder. She spun around and cried, stepping back into a wall before realising who it was.

"Sorry Gem, did I frighten you? Not used to speaking to one night stands I see." Finn winked, taking hold of her hand. Ruby felt a wave of relief brush over her as she pulls herself from the wall and continue walking with him. "You shouldn't be walking alone, you know, especially not at this time of night. What if I wasn't me and instead I was a mass murderer looking for hot girls to kill for fun?" He laughed, playfully pushing her into a hedge.

"Finn! I always walk by here at night, nothing has ever happened. I practically know the people who live on this street just by walking past so often." She laughed, recovering herself from the bush. They continued making small talk, discussing their worst fears and what they want in life.

The house was already alive with the beat of the music and people inside having a good time. Ruby squeezed Finns hand and got ready to enter the building before Finn pulled her aside. As confused as she was, he took her behind the house and put his rough hands on her shoulders; gazing deep into her eyes.

"Ruby, are we going to this party as a couple or friends?" He asked, with a straight face.

"Finn I...I don't know?" She stuttered, a bit taken aback. He sighed and pulled her closer, his hand resting on the back of her head, pushing her face against his and moved up the last half inch so their lips could touch. Softly. Lovingly. They breathed their souls and their love for each other in that kiss. That kiss; hard, but soft; fiery but cool; a split second but also forever. In that one kiss, She then knew what was behind that quirky smile, and it made her love for him grow even more. But it didn't feel right. It was so quick, they had met through a one night stand and not spoken to each other since (excluding the walk up to this party). After they pulled apart he moved his hands to her soft cheeks, looking somewhat frustrated. It was silent between the two for a while, only the music to keep them from being completely indulged in silence.

"Look...Ruby I'm sorry I don't know what came over me..." But before Finn could finish, Ruby shook her head and ran inside, desperately trying to find Florence. She pushed and shoved her way through the huge crowds of people, eventually spotting Florence near the food table.

"Florence! Florence, I need to tell you something so important please you need to come with me" Ruby protested, grabbing her friend's arm.

"Ruby I don't want to know about your next one night stand, just go with him now and leave me here, I'm busy!" She hissed, signalling to the man standing awkwardly behind her.

"No Florence it's so much more important than that please!" But despite Ruby's attempts, Florence sighed and turned her back to Ruby; continuing her conversation with the blonde male. Ruby sighed and flopped her arms with a hopeless expression on her face, rushing her hand through her hair again. In the distance, she heard Finn calling for her, but she knew that after she ran, she wouldn't be able to face him. Did she like him? Is she making the right decision? Questions were flooding her mind whilst she fled the party, escaping through the back garden gate.

She ran as fast as her 5-inch heels would allow her. The streets were empty so she didn't have to worry about bumping into people whilst she escaped, she just needed to get home. Ruby weaved her way through streets, not really knowing where she was going. Eventually, she slowed down to catch her breath and leant against a lamppost. She thought she lost him a while back but just wanted to make sure so she kept going for a little while. But now she was certain he was gone so she took it easy. Ruby pulled her shoes off and gently rubbed her sore feet whilst thinking about what just happened. When she carefully placed them back on and buckled them, she felt a severe power push her over whilst she was still bent sorting her shoes. Her hands scraped along the concrete and her knees followed with them. Her head smacked off of the floor, soon after she found she was struggling under a weight that was stopping her from turning around to inspect the situation. They grabbed hold of her arms and pulled them back, then squeezing her legs tightly together so she had no control over her limbs at all. All she could do was struggle.

"Ruby! Ruby!" A familiar voice shouted into her ear. She squealed and wriggled underneath whoever this was, and tried to turn her neck to see who was restraining her. "It's me, Felix! Stop struggling!"

"Get...off of me!" Ruby cried, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Felix released Ruby's arms and stood up, helping her up whilst standing back a little, wary of what she would do.

"I had to stop you, Ruby! Finn was searching frantically for you and he came back to our dorm looking pretty mad and told me if I was going to help I should find you." He replied, watching as Ruby dusted herself down and stared at her bloody palms.

"So you thought it was okay to push me over and think I was about to get abducted just to do Finn a favour?" She snapped, "How did he get to his apartment so quickly?"

"Well, he walked back, were you trying to get there before him or something? Because if you were then I just thought you should know that you're in the city centre" Ruby could hardly believe what she was hearing. The city centre? She knew that she went through a few random streets and turns, but she didn't think she'd end up in the centre!

"Felix, are you messing with me? This can't be the centre!"

"Well, you're on the outskirts. Just go down this street and turn left and you're there." Ruby sighed and ran her hands through her hair again, turning away from him to try to gather her thoughts. She felt a soft hand land on her shoulder before hearing him offer to walk her back home. She spun back around and smiled, nodding.


End file.
